01 May 2025
Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo
From January 2025 to present, the current President of the republic of Ghana, his excellency John Dramani Mahama has suspended the Chief Justice of Ghana, Hon.Getrude Araba Torkonoo following three petitions written to him to remove the Chief Justice. Since this issue started, a lot of Ghanaians have applauded the president for his decision to suspend the Chief Justice, mostly on the allegation that she is incompetent and corrupt. Others have also criticized the suspension, arguing that the suspension of the Chief Justice doesn't follow due process and therefore unconstitutional.
In as much as the Chief Justice may be legitimately suspended by the president, one thing to understand here is that this same president campaigned along with his then female running mate Prof Jane Nana Opoku-Agyemang, now the current vice president of Ghana to promote women in politics and affirmative action in the country. However, the president seems to take a hasty step in supending the Chief Jusitice instead of taking some few more months to work with the Chief Justice.
In opposition to the the Presidents suspension of the Chief Justice, the New Patriotic Party have criticized the Chief Justice's suspension, and have planned to demonstrate against the matter on 5th May 2025, on the basis that President Mahama's decision to suspend CJ Torkonoo is tyrant and undermine the fundamental principle of democracy. However, the same party came to power in 2016 and removed Madam Charlotte Osei as an EC Chair. Yet the government now in power, the National Democratic Congress also criticized her removal.
It looks as though the case about the removal of the Chief Justice is divided along partisan lines. Since Chief Justice Getrude Torkonoo was appointed as the CJ by the then president of the republic, Nana Akufo-Addo, it seems that the Chief Justice's removal is been kicked against by the NPP due to the fact that she was appointed when they were in government. The NPP sees the Chief Justice as a product of their political party due to her appointment by the NPP government. Meanwhile, almost the same thing was done to the then EC Chair Madam Chalotte Osei. And since Madam Charlotte Osei was also being appointed by Prez John Mahama during his first term, there is much reason to suspect that the protest is being fuelled with the sole aim of protecting thier 'party product'.
On the other hand the National Democratic Congress seem to support the removal of the Chief Justice solely because she was appointed by the NPP when they were in power. And they use the case of Madam Charlotte Osei as a case to justify the early suspension of the Chief Justice. Since CJ Torkonoo wasn't appointed by the National Democratic Congress, the party sees her as a product of the NPP, and as matter of fact the president wants to find a clever way of removing CJ Torkonoo as a chief Justice.
From this analysis, it is clear that these two political parties seem to priotize political interest over the need to promote gender equality and women inclusion in our political enclave. Part of the reason why gender equality is less progressive is solely due to the selfish party interest these two giant political parties want to protect. In the process of discussing issue that bothers on their own selfish aims and interest, they seem to overlook issues troubling women's development.
Women must rise up and stop looking dull and passive all the time, waiting for their faith to solely be determined by men of the same social standing and status.